Date Changed for Former Football Coach's Local Memorial Service

A local memorial service for Bill Ryan, a former Swampscott High School football coach, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott.

Ryan’s local memorial service was originally announced as being in November, but his family has decided to reschedule.

Ryan drowned on Sept. 30 as he tried to secure a boat that had come loose from its mooring during a storm. He was 54.

The Swampscott memorial event will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at St. John the Evangelist (174 Humphrey St.) A reception will take place afterward at Anthony’s Pier 4 Café and Hawthorne by the Sea Tavern (153 Humphrey St.)

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

According to an announcement from the family:

Bill came to New England in 1979 to earn a BS at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. He made his home in Swampscott in 1996. He was a highly regarded member of the community and a respected football coach in the Pop Warner League, at MIT and Merrimack College, and most recently at Swampscott High School. Many of the Swampscott players mentored by Bill will play against Winthrop at 2 p.m. on Saturday, following the memorial event.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 174 Humphrey St., Swampscott, MA 01907.